[1] The yeshiva is legally titled Rabbinical Seminary of America (RSA) but is often referred to as just Chofetz Chaim as that was the nickname of its namesake, Yisroel Meir Kagan.

The Yeshiva was established in 1933 by Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz, a great-nephew of the Chofetz Chaim.

Leibowitz was a disciple of Nosson Tzvi Finkel and he also studied under Naftoli Trop at the Yeshiva in Radun, Belarus.

The yeshiva was named for Leibowitz's great uncle, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, who had died that year.

Most recently, in the summer of 2002, the Yeshiva relocated to Kew Gardens Hills, Queens.